ReviewTillage effects on soil hydraulic properties in space and time: State of the science
Introduction
In recent decades, investigations documenting spatially averaged comparisons between tillage practices, usually contrasting “snap shots” of tillage versus no-tillage (NT), have become relatively common and have provided scientists and producers with broad insight about resultant, fundamental differences in soil physical properties and crop production. Currently our technological ability to apply precision agricultural practices for efficient resource management and crop yield enhancement outpaces our understanding of, and ability to predict, temporal and spatial variability of soil hydraulic behavior in response to management practices. Soil tillage represents, arguably, the most influential manipulation or alteration of soil physical properties because of repetitive application, its depth range extending up to tens of centimeter, and because it influences the type of residue management applied. Likewise, informed tillage application in response to temporal variability in soil hydraulic properties can invoke attractive benefits in areas that have suffered from low yield and inefficient resource allocation in the past (Raper et al., 2000). The research community is just beginning to explore the dynamic temporal and spatial variability in soil physical properties and processes in light of various tillage management practices, and the time is ripe to summarize the state of knowledge for this aspect of agricultural management.
The purpose of this paper is to review the literature and state of the science concerning: (1) causes of continuous temporal and spatial variability in observed soil hydraulic properties and processes as a result of tillage practices and (2) our ability to quantify and predict the effects of tillage practices on dynamically evolving soil hydraulic properties. We do not attempt to provide a review of studies that quantify spatial and temporal variability of soil properties and processes alone; rather, we address spatial and temporal variability resulting from soil tillage and its incidental effects, such as compaction from wheel traffic and crop residue management. Our paper begins with a background discussion of relevant soil hydraulic properties and processes, and follows with a brief overview of spatial and temporal inter-relationships between management practices and anthropogenic and natural variability, with specific emphasis on soil tillage practices. We then review numerous experimental studies dealing with spatio-temporal variability in soil physical properties and processes as a result of tillage management, including responses from coupled tillage and irrigation activities/experiments. Subsequently, we present a brief discussion of residue management and mechanical compaction, since these activities are often directly impacted by tillage practices and affect soil physical characteristics in space and time. We also review modeling endeavors designed to address tillage effects on dynamically evolving soil physical and hydraulic properties. We conclude with a discussion and summary of the need for a more mechanistic understanding of spatio-temporal dynamics of soil physical processes and properties from soil tillage, and the need to develop modeling tools that accurately characterize and predict this variability for prediction purposes.
Section snippets
Background
This review focuses on how soil hydraulic properties and processes vary dynamically in space and time as affected by tillage practices. We begin by identifying a brief taxonomy of the topic areas, first in terms of the soil hydraulic properties and processes being affected, and then by management practices and other causative factors. As in the literature review that follows, we present soil hydraulic properties in the order: soil bulk density, porosity, pore geometry, and soil structure; water
Literature review
The following literature review first presents information on both short- and long-term effects, as well as spatially variable effects, of soil tillage on soil hydraulic and physical properties and processes (Section 3.1). Although the work covered may not be exhaustive, it is representative and fairly comprehensive concerning recent advances and the state of the science. We include a sampling of literature that outlines long-term, spatially averaged, process response to changes in tillage
Toward predicting tillage-affected soil hydraulic properties
Synthesis of the above studies points to the need for improved quantification of tillage-induced changes in soil hydraulic properties in space and time. For example, Ahuja et al. (1998) proposed a practical method for estimating the soil water retention characteristics of a tilled soil from that of an untilled soil, given the change in porosity or bulk density. Previous field measurements have shown that most of the dynamic changes in pore-size distributions occur in the larger fraction of
Conclusions and recommendations
We have provided a detailed synopsis of the state-of-the-science for quantifying agricultural management effects, specifically tillage and related management activities, on soil hydraulic properties particularly relevant to space–time variability. We identified relationships between a large number of studies of management effects on basic soil properties and consequent detailed characterization of soil hydraulic properties in space and time. The literature demonstrates an awareness of
References (222)
Persistence of soil compaction due to high axle load traffic. 1. Short-term effects on the properties of clay and organic soils
Soil Till. Res.
(1996)Persistence of soil compaction due to high axle load traffic. 2. Long-term effects on the properties of fine-textured and organic soils
Soil Till. Res.
(1996)- et al.
Tillage systems and soil properties in Latin America
Soil Till. Res.
(1991) - et al.
Field measurement of soil surface hydraulic properties by disc and ring infiltrometers—a review and recent developments
Soil Till. Res.
(2000) - et al.
Components of surface soil structure under conventional and no-tillage in northwestern Canada
Soil Till. Res.
(1999) - et al.
Residue management and paratillage effects on some soil properties and rain infiltration
Soil Till. Res.
(2002) - et al.
Ridge tillage effects on simulated water and heat transport
Soil Till. Res.
(1990) Tillage effects on near-surface soil hydraulic properties
Soil Till. Res.
(1993)- et al.
Compaction of a silt loam soil by wheeled agricultural vehicles. 1. Effects upon soil conditions
Soil Till. Res.
(1986) - et al.
Analysis of porosity in a tilled crusting soil in Zimbabwe
Geoderma
(1993)
Porosity aspects of the regeneration of soil structure after compaction
Soil Till. Res.
Temporal variability of soil macroporosity in a fine sandy loam under mouldboard ploughing and direct drilling
Soil Till. Res.
Spatial and temporal variability of soil physical properties of Norfolk loamy sand as affected by tillage
Soil Till. Res.
Using regionalised variables to assess field-scale spatiotemporal variability of soil impedance for different tillage management
Biosyst. Eng.
Effects of tillage and crop rotation on physical properties of a loam soil
Soil Till. Res.
Short-term tillage effects on soil cone index and plant development in a poorly drained, heavy clay soil
Soil Till. Res.
Nitrous oxide emissions from a New Zealand cropped soil: tillage effects, spatial and seasonal variability
Agric. Ecosyst. Environ.
Effect of tillage on the hydraulic properties of a vertic soil
J. Agric. Eng. Res.
Scaling the saturated hydraulic conductivity of a vertic ustorthens soil under conventional and minimum tillage
Soil Till. Res.
Soil and crop responses to different tillage systems
Soil Till. Res.
Effect of Lumbricus terrestris L. Burrows on hydrology of continuous no-till corn fields
Geoderma
Spatial and temporal variability of soil hydraulic conductivity in relation to soil water distribution, using an exponential model
Soil Till. Res.
Long-term effects of conventional and no-tillage on selected soil properties and crop yields in Canterbury, New Zealand
Soil Till. Res.
Tillage-induced seasonal changes in soil physical properties affecting soil CO2 evolution under intensive cropping
Soil Till. Res.
Computed tomographic measurement of macroporosity in chisel-disk and no-tillage seedbeds
Soil Till. Res.
Effects of tillage method on soil physical properties, infiltration and yield in an olive orchard
Soil Till. Res.
Advances and challenges in predicting agricultural management effects on soil hydraulic properties
Geoderma
A review of tillage effects on crop residue management, seedbed conditions and seedling establishment
Soil Till. Res.
Modeling tillage effects on soil physical properties
Soil Till. Res.
Effect of tillage and field condition on soil physical properties, cane and sugar yields in vertisols of Kenana sugar estate, Sudan
Soil Till. Res.
Infiltration patterns into two soils under conventional and conservation tillage: influence of the spatial distribution of plant root structures and soil animal activity
Soil Till. Res.
Nitrate leaching as influenced by soil tillage and catch crop
Soil Till. Res.
Effects of moling and cultivation on soil water and runoff from a drained clay soil
Agric. Water Manage.
Soil physical-properties related to soil-structure
Soil Till. Res.
Field-scale bromide transport as affected by tillage
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
Scaling soil-water properties and infiltration modeling
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
Evaluation of spatial distribution of hydraulic conductivity using effective porosity data
Soil Sci.
Changes in soil water retention curves due to tillage and natural reconsolidation
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
Quantifying wheel track effects on soil hydraulic properties for agricultural systems modeling
Trans-disciplinary soil physics research critical to synthesis and modeling of agricultural systems
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
An infiltration equation to assess cropping effects on soil water infiltration
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
Spatial relations between oat residue and ceramic spheres when incorporated sequentially by tillage
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
Effect of soil variability on response to tillage of an Atlantic coastal plain ultisol
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
Seasonal variation of hydraulic properties of soils measured using a tension disk infiltrometer
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
Characterization of tillage and traffic effects on unconfined infiltration measurements
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
Traffic effects on water infiltration in chisel plow and no-till systems
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
Effect of compaction on soil physical and hydraulic properties: experimental results and modeling
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
Effect of cultivation on hydraulic properties of an Iowa soil using tension infiltrometers
Soil Sci.
Soil infiltration and hydraulic conductivity under long-term no-tillage and conventional tillage systems
Can. J. Soil Sci.
Soil water drying and recharge rates as affected by tillage under continuous barley and barley–canola cropping systems in northwestern Canada
Can. J. Soil Sci.
Cited by (518)
Freeze-thaw effects on pore space and hydraulic properties of compacted soil and potential consequences with climate change
2024, Soil and Tillage ResearchCharacterization of soil pores in strip-tilled and conventionally-tilled soil using X-ray computed tomography
2024, Soil and Tillage ResearchCrop rotations influence soil hydraulic and physical quality under no-till on the Canadian prairies
2024, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment